1,467.5 Hrs.

Today was Comcast Cares Day, which is the day that Comcast tries to get its employees to go and and do massive community service projects. This year, City Year Miami helped to put together CCD, as it is done in every City Year site that is sponsored by Comcast, which is one of our biggest coorporate sponsors. A little while ago, I applied to be a Project Coordinator for the day, and I certainly had no idea what I was signing up for.

The day began with prep work starting at 6:30 a.m. At some time around 8:00, the opening ceremony began, and I was fortunate to be chosen as a member of the P.T. crew that led P.T. this morning for 500 volunteers. We put about six hours of practice into the five minute routine, but it was all worth it.

After the opening ceremony, the service work began. My project was painting one of the bathrooms at Oleta State Park, which is where the event was held, and I led a team of about thirty volunteers with the help of one assistant Project Coordinator from Comcast. The volunteers (including my Young Heroes team!) did a really great job. Unfortunately, though, we ran out of paint before we could finish.

In addition to my bathroom, the other projects that were completed today were three other bathrooms that had to be painted, the removal of invasive plant species, the building of ADA-approved benches and picnic tables, the building of a fitness center and bicycle racks, the re-vamping of a butterfly garden, ropes and poles keeping up the sand dunes were replaced and strengthened, and three acres were covered with dirt and then sod and then plants were planted. And these projects, all together, totally transformed the park! After all of that and when the volunteers left was clean-up, and then we got to go home around 5:30. What a powerful day of service!

-Aly

DUG: 53